Help! Chewing & pulling on lead

Hi,

I'd really appreciate some help Yesterday at obedience, the instructor called Chloe a 'problem dog' She's not a problem dog, she just has issues when we go to obedience! She's a 10mth old Alaskan Malamute and as such has low tolerance for repeative exercises and sitting for long periods. She gets bored quickly. When she gets bored at obedience, she thinks it is fun to turn around and grab the lead in her mouth and pull with all her might. She then starts growling at me. I am able to most time open her mouth and take the lead out. If she can't grab the lead, she will grab my jumper or pants. She only does this at obedience, not when we go for a walk or anything.

As mentioned she also gets bored sitting for long periods. When doing a sit/stay they expect them to sit for 1min. Chloe struggles to manage 20sec! And then we have to do it again. And she hates doing things over and over so it gets worse! While waiting for a turn on the agility equipment (which she loves) the dogs are expected to sit in line for up to 5 min. Forget it! Chole won't have a bar of it

So recognising that she is only a puppy still and is an Alaskan mulmute and therefore has a low tolerance for repetitive exercises and low boredom threshold, does anyone have any ideas to help? Especially with the pulling/tugging on the lead?

Sorry for the long post, but I'm starting to become frustrated.

Thanks,
Mel & Chloe

Oh, I forgot to add, that at obedience yesterday the instructor told me to distract her from pulling the lead with food. Well I did this (against my better instincts) and she just thought "great, if I pull the lead, I get food!" which is exactly what I thought would happen.

Thanks,
Mel

Bump!! Any help? Anyone??

Find a new trainer who understands that little pups have the attention span of little kids! Get a harness so that the leash is on her back so she can't access it with her mouth and keep your body away from her so she can't get ahold of you. Hopefully someone else will have more ideas for you.

I agree with adrienne, especially about finding a new trainer. sounds like the petco and petsmart trainers I have met, but luckily never used. food rewards are the best training method, but not as a distraction. practice at home without a leash, and start with shorter than 20 second sits/downs if she struggles with 20 seconds. work you way up. get a clicker and cut up a few hot dogs into small bites (small for a puppy, especially since they practically swallow everything whole) and give her the commands. if she hasnt gotten it yet press down on her bottom to make her sit, gently move her front paws so she is forced to lie down, and as soon as she does it (wether she remains down or not, but before she gets back up) reward her. click as you give command, peice of hot dog as soon as she obeys even if she didnt obey on her own. progressivly lengthen the amount of time she has to stay in position of the particular command.

I'm curious but how old is Chloe.........large breeds mature very slowly. Plus she being a sled dog breed or pulling breed being still is against her nature.......I agree. I would find another training group or better yet a "puppy training class" where exercises are geared to puppies not mature dogs. In anycase know that things will get better having said that also remember preventing a habitit is easier than correcting one. Take baby steps with your training and DO NOT LET HER BECOME THE BOSS. The harness maybe appropriate in some situations but since they are a pulling breed this will encourage her to pull causing another problem. She is testing you in class with her behavior..........but she is a puppy.........no puppy unless close to a year old should be expected to stay in one spot 5 min. that is stupid...........Northern breeds do have their idiosyncresies when it comes to training.......they can be very stubborn. Find a puppy class. What kind of training class did you enrole in.....private or a club.....

Hello

All great advice up there for you. It sounds like you are happy with the way your dog and you operate on normal circumstances --- and that shows that you have already been a good trainer. Good luck to you!

www.hundehalsband.ch

10 month old Mal. Thank goodness it is a female, they are only half as stubborn as the males can be. KInda like humans, I guess.

Yeah Mals are definetly stubborn! lol Lucas, my malamute, use to be a big puller too. But if you follow everyones advice (whichever works best for your dog) and get walking on a loose leash when she is a puppy you won't have this giant dog take you for walks. Good luck!

Well, if she is breaking the stay at twenty seconds a good trainer would recognise that as her threshold and try to build it up gradually. Every single time your dog breaks a stay, she is learning that she can! Try practicing the stay at home, gradually (and I mean second by second) building up the time. As for biting on the lead. Distracting her with food once she has started biting is wrong, lol, you are rewarding it. But if you can catch her just before she gets bored and start reinforcing her for eye contact you might get somewhere.
As for the repetitive excercises, try jumping up and down, being unpredictable and varying your rewards. She may get food, she may get praise, she may get a short tug game with a TOY, not the leash!
Mals can be challenging in the training game, they arn't slow to learn but they are very cautious about doing things, especially if they think someone is trying to "make" them do it.
As for pulling, a harness would just give her something to lean her whole body into (as she has been bred to do). I would recommend a halter, as long as you get someone experienced to thouroughly show you how to use it. We have many mals and huskies at our club and they can work very well, so have faith! They are very smart, fun loving dogs.